In the last few months I’ve been testing other platforms for achieving workday productivity. One of those platforms I’ve tested is Gmail. I’d used it in the past, not really liked it, but thought I should look at it again. It’s evolved greatly since my first use, so I decided to see, first-hand, how its newer versions compare with the Microsoft Outlook ecosystem of products.

I’ll write much more about in the coming months, but my initial conclusion is that Gmail’s webmail, in its recent incarnations, has come a long way and offers productivity opportunities comparable to Outlook.

Gmail Tasks and 1MTD

  • As of now Gmail sidebar gadgets are deprecated and will soon cease to be supported. But there is a chrome addon called RightTasks for Gmail™. Adds your Google Tasks to a right sidebar in Gmail, like in Google Calendar. RightTasks places your Google Tasks in a right sidebar in Gmail, like in Google Calendar.
  • To add a task in in your Gmail account using Google Tasks, click the down arrow on the “Mail” menu in the upper-left corner of the Gmail window and select “Tasks.” The “Tasks” window displays in the bottom-right corner of the Gmail window. Notice that the cursor is blinking in the first blank task.

This is especially true of the new Tasks module that Google released a number of months ago (shown above).

The task lists in your Gmail account allow you to quickly and easily find dates for completing tasks while checking your email. However, viewing your tasks in your calendar can give you a more complete picture of what you have to do and when you have to do it. To begin, sign in to your Gmail account. Open your calendar.

I’ve used it a lot recently, and in my mind, that new Tasks module is comparable to the new Microsoft To Do task module in terms of how well it can be used with my simple One Minute To-Do List (1MTD) system. It works well!

Some of the things I like about Gmail Tasks are:

  • It has good drag-prioritization,
  • It has good tools for conversion of emails into tasks,
  • Presents a nice clean, simple interface.
Gmail tasks

Good iPhone and Android Apps

And Google has new iPhone and Android Tasks apps that match theweb functionality well.

Because of all that, I’ve started developing a brand-new videocourse on using Google Tasks with 1MTD. That new course is probably two orthree months from release, but I’ll give you a heads up as it gets closer.

By the way let’s be clear: while Google Tasks is a great appfor 1MTD, it is not something to use for the powerful MYN system. Rather, Windowsdesktop Outlook, or Toodledo, are still your best app choices there.

Should You Choose Microsoft To Do or Google Tasks?

Gmail Tasks Disappearing

So if you want to use 1MTD, which should you use, MicrosoftTo Do or Google Tasks?

Gmail

In my mind the choice is a question of which productivity ecosystemyou want to hook your wagon to: Microsoft’s or Google’s. Are you currently usingthe Microsoft Office set of tools, or the Google G-Suite toolset? That is how Iwould decide, match with your other tools.

If you are a Gmail user and want to implement 1MTD, watch mynewsletters for an announcement of the new Gmail for 1MTD video course.

Gmail’s big Material Theme redesign in 2018 was accompanied by the relaunch of Google Tasks. The integration between the two services is now more prominent with an “Add to tasks” toolbar shortcut.

Google lets you link an email directly to a task for quick access and context. This can be done by dragging the message to the Gmail sidebar from the inbox view, or opening it and navigating to the toolbar overflow menu.

Gmail Tasks Print

A tweak to the latter workflow sees “Add to tasks” become its own icon in between “Snooze” and “Move to.” The action is identical, with the sidebar opening and a new task created. The name takes after the subject line, and you can click on the email chip to have it open in Gmail.

This elevation of “Add to tasks” in the Gmail toolbar beats the previous location of a long menu with several other actions — where it’s still located on Android. The circular icon is a checkmark with a “plus” sign in the bottom-right corner.

The change is not yet widely rolled out on the web, but appearing for both personal Google and G Suite accounts.

More about Gmail:

Gmail Tasks Disappeared

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